H.S. ice hockey: Ramsey falls to Morristown, 1-0, in Public B final on goal with 33.8 seconds left

Ramsey's Jack Jordan working the puck up ice during the Public B final against Morristown on Sunday at the Prudential Center in Newark.

NEWARK — There was nothing that could be said, no words that could heal the emotional pain that Ramsey hockey was enduring.

Outside a quiet locker room in the corridors of Prudential Center after Sunday night's 1-0 loss to Morristown in the Public B state final, Rams players and coaches spoke softly, if at all, refusing to believe their storybook season had come to an end like this.

In front of what seemed like the entire town of Ramsey, the Rams fell painfully short of their ultimate goal, surrendering the game-winner to the Colonials' Brian Begley with just 33.8 seconds remaining in the third period — Morristown's only shot on goal in the third.

It tore the hearts out of the strong Ramsey faithful, who have stood by the Rams' side since early December, leaving them speechless and in shock as they filed out of the arena.

It devastated the group of 20-something players — 20-something best friends — who had collectively gave everything they had for months to get to that point.

"Those guys are hurting right now," coach Bob Toy said. "I didn't say much. We said how proud as a staff we were of them, how proud the town is of them, but there was nothing I could say to take this sting away.

"It's tough to lose a state championship by giving up a goal with 33 seconds left. We made one mistake. One of our guys fell, that turned into an odd-man rush; they put a good shot on net and I don't think Tyler [Harmon] saw it. You know, just prior to that we had a shot in the high slot and Shane Brown made a huge save. If that goes in, it's a different story. It didn't. That's hockey."

"It was just the second time this season Ramsey was shut out, both coming against Mennen Division teams (lost to Randolph, 1-0, on Dec. 30) "There are just no words to describe what I'm feeling right now," senior defenseman Chris Butryn said quietly. "To come so close, to be here with this group of guys. … We're like a family out there. It's unbelievable that it's all over.

"A bunch of us were just crying in the locker room. I told the guys coming back that they have to get it next year. For all of us."

Pitted against a similar defensive-minded team in Morristown, anchored by an All-State caliber goaltender in Brown, the Colonials limited Ramsey to just four shots on goal in the first period.

Ramsey appeared nervous and out-of-sync in the opening period, appearing at The Rock for the first time since 2009, against a Morristown team that had been there each of the previous two seasons but losing both times.

The Rams flipped the script over the next two periods, however, outshooting Morristown, 18-5, over the final 30 minutes while controlling the territorial advantage, but it was Begley's bar-down shot from the slot with 33 seconds left that lifted fourth-seeded Morristown to the upset victory.

"I mean, there's nothing you can do about it now," said senior defenseman Anthony Pedulla, who could be seen embracing junior teammates Alex Whelan and Nick Botta, among others, once the final buzzer sounded.

"Everybody's down right now. There's nothing we can say and nothing we can do to pick everybody back up. We just have to move on. They'll be back next year. We might not be a team anymore, but we're still a family."

MORRIS KNOLLS 3, BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN 0: Though the Golden Eagles were below .500 at the state cutoff, they earned an at-large bid and stormed their way to a Public A state title. Alex Urbanski scored early in the first, Danny Cangelosi added one in the second before Reed Pelliconi's empty-netter.

CBA 4, MORRISTOWN-BEARD 4: Trailing, 4-1, after the first period, CBA stormed back, striking for three goals in the first five minutes of the second. The game remained scoreless through the rest of regulation and 15 minutes of overtime, as both we're crowned Non-Public co-champs.